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Pyongyang unlikely venue for 3rd Moon-Kim summit

By Lee Min-hyungThe venue for a third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could be changed from Pyongyang, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman indicated Friday.Under the historic April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration following their first summit, Moon and Kim agreed to hold a summit in the North Korean capital sometime this fall.However, presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the summit might not take place in Pyongyang and a specific venue will likely be confirmed during scheduled high-level talks between Seoul and Pyongyang next week."Nothing has been confirmed about the venue for the third inter-Korean summit," Kim told reporters at a media briefing. North Korea is likely to deliver its preferred venues during the high-level talks scheduled for Aug. 13, Kim said.Leaders of the two Koreas will likely discuss details about when to declare the official end to the 1950-53 Korean War during their planned third meeting.In recent months, North Korea has stepped up criticism of the South in taking an ambivalent posture about the agenda due to the United States.This is because Washington is in a position to use the declaration of the war's end as a "bargaining chip" to speed up the regime's denuclearization.The U.S. wants the North to take concrete and verifiable steps to realize its pledge for complete denuclearization.

By Lee Min-hyungThe venue for a third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could be changed from Pyongyang, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman indicated Friday.Under the historic April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration following their first summit, Moon and Kim agreed to hold a summit in the North Korean capital sometime this fall.However, presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the summit might not take place in Pyongyang and a specific venue will likely be confirmed during scheduled high-level talks between Seoul and Pyongyang next week."Nothing has been confirmed about the venue for the third inter-Korean summit," Kim told reporters at a media briefing. North Korea is likely to deliver its preferred venues during the high-level talks scheduled for Aug. 13, Kim said.Leaders of the two Koreas will likely discuss details about when to declare the official end to the 1950-53 Korean War during their planned third meeting.In recent months, North Korea has stepped up criticism of the South in taking an ambivalent posture about the agenda due to the United States.This is because Washington is in a position to use the declaration of the war's end as a "bargaining chip" to speed up the regime's denuclearization.The U.S. wants the North to take concrete and verifiable steps to realize its pledge for complete denuclearization.